ELDERLY tower block tenants fear they could end up in care homes after funding for a vital community service was axed.

For more than 20 years, residents of Wyndley House on Montagu Estate, Kenton, Newcastle, have been calling in at a “community flat” in the building.

A “lifeline” for tenants, the flat is a meeting place where older people can get help and support from a friendly face.

But now they face a funding shortfall and fear the service could be closed down.

Wyndley House’s community flat is run by charity Community Service Volunteers (CSV) using money from Your Homes Newcastle (YHN).

That funding ceases in March with YHN planning new in-house services. Pollie Antonelli, 68, who lives in Wyndley House with husband Luke, 61 – who suffers from agoraphobia – said losing the flat would be devastating to them.

She said: “My husband could barely get out of the house before he started going to the community flat.

“Now he can go downstairs anytime and there will always be someone there. It is a great weight off my mind.

“The flat is such a valuable resource. It provides lunches for people who can’t cook, trips out, and somewhere to socialise.”

Previously, the Northern Rock Foundation had funded the flat, but pulled out in 2007 saying it should be paid for by the state.

And YHN say the cash they provided to CSV was never intended to support work at Wyndley House – as it was given to CSV to support services in other designated sheltered housing blocks.

A spokesperson for CSV said: “We would very much like to continue providing the service at Wyndley House, which aims to reduce the isolation felt by elderly people in tower blocks.

“However, the financial situation is challenging. We are looking for a new source of funding.”